Oil Into Digits

A short exploration of the relation between energy and computing

Can we evaluate the energetic cost of playing with our high-technology equipment? Is the environmental impact of making and running computers significant? Is software any different from the other technology domains? Should a "ping ccc.de" require any fuel be burned or atoms be split?
This talk will attempt to answer some of these questions by describing the main physical mechanisms at hand, and outlining the main patterns in the fuzzy and all-important relation between computing and energy.